The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant, botanically known as Osteospermum ecklonis and referred to by the cultivar name Bamba.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Aabyhoj, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to create new compact Osteospermum cultivars with interesting ray floret colors.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1995 of a proprietary selection of Osteospermum ecklonis identified as 9512 as the female, or seed, parent and a proprietary selection of Osteospermum ecklonis identified as 9520 as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Osteospermum was selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of this cross in a controlled environment in Aabyhoj, Denmark, in 1996.
Plants of the new cultivar are different from plants of the female parent, the selection 9512, primarily in plant habit.
Plants of the new Osteospermum are different from plants of the male parent, the selection 9520, in plant size, number of ray florets and color of lower surface of ray florets.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings at Aabyhoj, has shown that the unique features of this new Osteospermum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Bambaxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Bambaxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact and uniform plant habit.
2. Ray florets that are initially lavender in color and darken to red purple with development.
3. Dark purple-tipped disc florets.
4. Numerous inflorescences per plant.
The new cultivar can be compared to the Osteospermum cultivar Cape Daisy Lusaka, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,337. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Aabyhoj, Denmark, and Encinitas, Calif., plants of the new cultivar are smaller, less vigorous and more uniform in plant habit; have smaller but more numerous inflorescences; have slightly shorter peduncles; and have a more saturated ray floret color than plants of the cultivar Lusaka.
The cultivar Bamba has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.